United States athelete, Anna Tunnicliffe, was one of five nominees present at the ceromony, held in the Cuartel de Ballaja. It is the second time that the ISAF Sailing World Cup champion in Women's Match Racing has been

awarded the honour, having previously acheived the recognition in 2009.


An emotional Tunnicliffe was presented with the ISAF Rolex World Sailor

of the Year Trophy and Rolex timepiece. She commented, "Thank you very

much for this award. it is a true honour. Congratulations to all of the other

nominees, you guys are fantastic and amazing sailors.


"I really have to thank everyone that's been a part of the reason I won this award, especially my team. This is truly a team effort. I couldn't have done it

without them. I would also like to thank my family and my husband for being very supportive and my sponsors. It is truly amazing.'"


The ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award ts the highest award a sailor

can receive in recognition of outstanding achievements. The Awards are presented annually based on a worldwide selection process that incorporates

an open invitation for nominations, followed by a vote amongst the over

130 members nations of the International Sailing Federation (ISAF).

Anna Tunnicliffe presented with the ISAF Rolex Sailor of the Year Award

								
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Dekker is currently preparing for what most sailors figure to be the most dangerous

leg of her remarkable journey: crossing the Indian Ocean,which is notorious

for not only unpredictable weather, but perhaps worse.....pirates.


In all the articles that I read about this journey not once did they mention the boat. So I thought I would give you some info:


"Guppy", is a Jeanneau Ginfizz Ketch. The boat is 38 ft. which is something to

get used to in comparison to the 28ft. of her previous boat which was a Hurly

800. The width or beam is quite large, 12.5ft. and has a draft of over 6 ft.

Laura Dekker's boat "Guppy"

Abby Sunderland

Rather than attempting a non-stop circumnavigation, Dekker plans to stop at dozens of ports

and may even return home to catch up on her studies before resuming her trip. If Dekker

completes the voyage, any record she claims would probably be unoffiicial and is likely

to be challanged. Both the World Sailing Speed Record Council and Guiness World Record

state that they no longer recognize records for " youngest sailors" to avoid encouraging

dangerous attempts.

Not long ago, another trip was attempted by 16-year-old Abby Sunderland of Thousand Oaks, California. She was rescued from the Indian Ocean in June after her sailboat rolled in high seas

and lost it's mast, forcing Sunderland to activate emergency locating beacons and initiating

a rescue mission from Australia. This created quite some "flack" from the boating community

as I remember.

Earlier this year, Austrailia Jessica Watson successfully completed her solo around-the-world

sail at age 16, returing to Austrailia's Syndey Harbor in May 2010 after seven months at sea.

Hmmm....didn't hear much about that either!

Our local news really stinks! Our city is a sailing "meca" , yet local news hardly promotes it. Case in point,

I never heard about Laura Dekker until recently. A Dutch adventurer since the ripe age of 14, she has been attempting to become the youngest person (yet again) to sail solo around the world. Back in 2010 this

teenager left Potugal. She left en route to either Spain's Canary Islands or Portugal's Madeira Island depending

on the winds, according to manager Peter Klarenbeek.


Dekker's trek of course has been surrounded by controversy even while in the planning stages. The Dutch

sailor had hoped to set sail on the voyage around the world a year prior, but her mother voiced strong

objections, while her father suppoted the trip ( parents are seperated ). And the courts intervened and placed

her under guardianship of a child welfare agency. On July 20th, the court released her from state guardianship.


Laura Dekker and her solo trip around the world on "Guppy"

								
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The America's Cup World Series, a high performance, high-speed international sailing regatta, is coming to San Diego Bay.

The races will be held near the downtown waterfront from November 12-20, 2011.

The close-to-shore fleet races will offer the public free close up views of the America's

Cup sailing crews who will be competing on the fastest boats- AC45 wing-sailed catamarans.

America's Cup World Series Coming to San Diego

								
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Okeanos- Foundation for The Sea


Have rebuilt seven ocean- voyaging moanas,

together with the help and expertise of the

Polynesian people.


They are continuing to revive their ancient Polynesian

cultural traditions while excercising respectful stewardship

of their ocean.


They are currentlybin San Diego until January for

maintenance on the vakas.


For more information : http://www.pacifcvoyagers.org/

								
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